Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony
| Game Name: | Grand Theft Auto 4 - Ballad of Gay Tony, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City |
| Platforms: | Xbox 360 |
| Publisher(s): | Rockstar Games |
| Developer(s): | Rockstar North |
| Genre(s): | Modern Action Adventure |
| Release Date: | October 29, 2009 |
| ESRB Rating: | M |
Grand Theft Auto is game everyone will remember, from Gamers who idolizes the game to Politicians who detests it(boo!!!). After following the misadventures of an immigrant and a biker comes GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony, the series Finale, gives the player a chance to go through the Night Life of Liberty City through the eyes of Louis Lopez. How does the game fair out, it is just simply Fabulous.
Always wear a helmet when driving and killing someone.
Story:
Tony Prince, one of the biggest Night Life entrepreneur is running through some shit in his business meaning dipping night life attendance, staying out of old age, his addiction to heroin and the main problem he got himself a bit of debt to pay stirring some conflict with some CD investors who want the money back. As Tony’s Business partner and body guard, Louis, it falls under your shoulder to get him back on his feet. This will lead you to do some crazy jobs for Tony’s investor but hey someone’s gotta do it. As true to the earlier GTA series the cast of Ballad of Gay Tony is great and it does well to show the dirty side of Liberty City. Tony is a narcotic mess, who keeps screwing up things and is a truly lovable looser whereas Louis is foul mouthed with an understated no nonsense intensity. The script is sharp and funny and isn’t afraid to push some buttons in the name of entertainment. The bond between Louis and Tony is superb and you will definitely want to know what will happen to Tony and Louis in the end.
Louis Lopez the protagonist and Gay Tony the boss.
Design:
The ballad of Gay Tony works on the same framework and innovations to previous GTA series like the Lost and the Damned and GTA-4. Like Lost and the Damned the entire city is unlocked. Once the formal introduction to game’s Night life is improved, you will be thrown into the sandbox with some open world shakedowns. In order to rebuild Tony’s crumbling empire you will need to take jobs from various contacts, you will run across some familiar jobs like setting up car bombs or running drugs or products and some scenarios which will use some new and returning features, like the parachute in GTA: San Andreas. It is this that makes the game fresh, you will approach familar missions with different ideas of how to encounter it or with a completely different perspective. The Ballad of Gay Tony uses the mid-mission checkpoint system which was used in The Lost and The Damned, which is great for tough missions cause I am sure that you will need a couple of tries before you complete it. After each successful mission the stats pop up and is tied down to the Rockstar Social Club online. Completing the game will allow you to revisit fire missions and therefore gives a better chance of replayablity and also gives you a chance to show who is boss online. If you are not that serious or if you are bored, the game also allows you to engage in certain activities like Dancing, taking a girl on a date or something else, club fights, drinking games, base jumping etc. They are just mini games but fun none the less.
The parachute making a comeback from GTA: San Andreas.
Multiplayer is the same as the earlier version but with more arenas for deathmatch, Killstreak bonus like giving you cash for getting a streak adds to the mayhem and the races are faster as the cars have NOS tank in em. With no new modes when compared to the GTA 4 setup it however refines it and makes it even better by adding new weapons, vehicles and gadgets. The gameplay clocks in a solid 10+ hours which is amazing when compared to other full priced retail game. The new features are not as intriguing when compared to The Lost and The Damned but the small details when added up makes it a superb experience.
Feeling bored, get jiggy with it in the Night Life of Liberty City.
Gameplay:
Louis may not be a ex-militant like Niko or a hard ass biker like Johnny but he still knows how to operate weapons and heavy vehicles. Much of the game’s core gamplay is untouched and still uses the old mechanics. The game brings more content than innovation(Something that I can live with). At the top of the heap is the new assortment of weapons ranging from the sticky bomb to silenced assault rifles to incendiary shotgun shells to parachutes to armor. You will have a lot more tools bring in the pain, all though the dumb blind fire system and dumb sticky cover becomes a hindrance than a pro in the game. You can still choose to go via the scenic route by driving to destination by yourself or you can take the cab to get to it. The game doesn’t innovate in anything new and decides to play safe by adding content to it. There is no arguing that there is plenty to see and do in Liberty City and that’s what truly counts.
The scenario is big this time and the missions are just plain crazy.
Presentation:
The Engine is the same as that which was used in GTA 4 and The Lost and The Damned, that is the Euphoria engine and the RAGE engine, since it is old a lot of new games have better engines and I personally wished that game would have a modified engine something like the Source engine in Half-Life 2:Episode 2. The game has certain bugs like Frame Rate stutter and weird popping or spawning of people here and there. However the game’s animation and scene building makes it worthwhile. On the Audio end Rockstar again comes out with one of the best laid voice acting which brings out true emotion in the game scenes, the best acting goes to Tony as the shrillness and fear can be caught right with his voice. The soundtrack has also been updated with cool variety of tunes. Dancing and disco have variety of tracks which differ from club to club. If you buy the Liberty City Disc edition you will get a new station called Vice FM which adds in a variety of 80’s music in it.
The Engine may be old but it still has not lost its charm.
Conclusion:
Ballad of Gay Tony does not innovate the game as I said before but just re-skins it with new weapons, items and features that make it a memorable and fun way to part with the GTA 4 series. It has plenty of value for money as it has beautiful campaign, amazing multiplayer and superb replayablity makes it a must buy or must download. It is a shame to see the end of the GTA 4 series but it is nothing less than a fun and fulfilling way to end it.
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